Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8

33cl bottle from Struise Beershop Woesten e-shop.
F: medium, tanned, almost good retention.
C: dark, opaque.
A: dark malts, chocolate, woody, whisky, bit red wine, dried fruits, spicy, bit herbal.
T: full malty base, chocolate, woody, bit herbal, red wine touch(Porto), spicy, red apples, pears, dry on the palate, some tannins, nice balanced bitterness, medium carbonation, good one, enjoyed for sure.

#porter

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Imperial porter - a style I love and still find underrated, though the boundaries with imperial stout are admittedly blurry - by De Meester, aged in German whisky barrels (though the label fails to mention which one(s)) and infused with port; the latter element seems unnecessary to me and given the fact that De Meester receives a lot of positive feedback from the beer community which I never entirely understood, I approach this with some scepticism. Things do not begin very well: this brew gushes upon opening, even quite strongly so, so keep a glass very nearby. Thick and frothy, plastery lacing, pale beige, densely and even-bubbled, stable head on a very dark chocolate brown beer - near black, but with a burgundy glow still visible, and some dark dots (proteins) near the bottom of the glass, doubtlessly related to the gushing. Aroma of Chocotoff and Mon Chéri candy (toffee and candied cherries), Sachertorte, brown bread crust, cold cappuccino, raisins, ruby port (quite pronounced) more than whisky though the latter comes later and recognisably so, pear syrup, dates, pecan nut paste, butterscotch, wet clay, some oak wood but not really prominent, freshly cut sweet red apple, ripe blue plum, something 'dusty'. Sweet onset, very fruity with hints of red plum, raisins, pear, date and red apple (luckily no banana), edged by a very soft sourishness accentuated by sharpish carbonation (a bit much for the intended style); full, smooth body, but not quite as oily or creamy as I expected it to be, with that (over?)carbonation continuing. Candied cherry and candied date notes continue over a smooth caramelly malt base with dark-chocolatey edges (Mon Chéri springs to mind again, but far less sugary), mocha and toffee associations on top, generally sweet with a mild coffeeish bitter accent, bittered further by woodiness, which remains nevertheless relatively soft. The 'dusty' element of dead yeast returns retronasally - reminding me again of the gushing I had almost forgotten at this point - and then a warming booziness appears, very clearly (sweet) port-flavoured at first but then, gradually, silently and subtly, moving into a more whisky-like flavour, albeit an accessible, sweetish, caramelly one. Herbal hops provide late and gentle bitterness, while the whisky cannot resist to effectuate its astringent effect in the very end. Too bad for the gushing - which is even hard to explain here from a consumer's point of view, infection can at least be ruled out as a cause - but ultimately this is quite an enjoyable concoction, better than what I am used to from De Meester (maybe I should cut them some slack and have more of their beers)... It possesses the basic characteristics of imperial porter, shows originality and depth and entertains, even if I do maintain that the port infusion was not needed, given the fact that it already sat on whisky barrels at an earlier stage in its production process. Sweet, but not cloying, rich but not overwhelmingly so and warming without wryness - just too bad that this German whisky remains undisclosed (could be Finch, Black Forest, Höhler or whatever), but I take great comfort in the fact that I do not know anything about German whisky anyway. Alright, I admit it: De Meester has moved up the ladder for me with this original creation. --- Beer merged from original tick of Falso Mestre #1 German Whisky BA Porto Infused on 08 Mar 2025 at 00:51 - Score: Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5. Original review text: Imperial porter by this popular West-Flemish brewery, one of several variants, in this case aged on German whisky barrels (the brand remains unspecified) and infused with port. Strong gusher, even with careful opening about 1/5 disappeared into the sink so be warned. Medium sized, even- and tiny-bubbled, yellowish pale beige, very creamy, membrane-lacing, thinning yet stable, very regular head on a dark chestnut brown beer, near blackish, with burgundy edges and a drab of proteins sinking to the bottom of the glass. Aroma of Belgian chocolates, 'Chocotoff' candy, caramel sauce, clear (dry) oak wood, whisky also very obvious but less strong than the wood itself, walnut paste, old toast, coffee grounds (diluted), port somewhere in the distance I guess but very faraway, weird side hints of brown soap, hot asphalt or tar, wallpaper paste and something oddly herbal (lavender, or even peppermint). Sweet onset with a dim sourishness underneath, quite estery for the intended style with notes of lingonberry, fresh fig, red apple and red plum, residual brown sugariness but not in a cloying way, fairly lively carbonated; very full, round, oily body. Layered middle, with notes of caramel candy, walnut paste, some black chocolate and wet toast, but also lingering red fruitiness - I guess this is now the effect of the port infusion - and these faint, yet clear and odd side effects of clove, wet white paper, dried lavender and brown soap. In the finish, the tannic dryness of the wood comes up strong (and, frankly, welcoming), immediately followed by its former inhabitant, the boozy bittersweet effects of the German whisky. The port plays a more prominent role in the tail, adding to the booziness of the whisky but also adding this vinous, unmistakable ruby port sugary sweetness and 'grapeyness'. Hops sit underneath, with a restrained bitterness combining with the roasty remains of the malts, but become much more prominent in the very last stage, when all is said and done, lingering leafily at the back of the throat. This effect notably happens at the time when solid chunks of protein start to pass through - not a very appetising experience, I must add. I did not have any other variant in this particular series so I cannot compare, but this beer makes sense in the wider range of De Meester: ambitious, but always somehow missing the essence of what the craft beer style - flavoured imperial porter in this case - is about. De Meester aims at greatness and originality, but does not entirely understand the basics and then goes on to miss target - barely, but clearly (the Mok Master series perhaps excluded). This is another one of those cases: in itself an interesting and entertaining concoction and definitely innovative and surprising to the average Belgian palate that has never met the great craft beer evolutions in e.g. the U.S., Scandinavia or even - god forbid - Holland, but somehow flawed in its gushing and odd off-flavours. And that is apart from being - now I am talking about my own personal taste - a bit too sweet and, in the end, annoyingly cloying, as well as needlessly being 'infused' with something (if only this cheap infusion trend would come to a grinding halt). I keep trying, but other than the Mok Masters, these Meester beers still fails to fully impress me.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Black colour, brown foam. Nose of coffee, roasted malts, a bit metallic, sweet, vinous, and roasty. A bit thin and unbalanced.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Bottle. Gusher. Very dark brown colour. Aroma and taste of red wine, I guess this is the Port infusion. It's very sweet and jammy. Touch of strong booze in the aftertaste.